Machine learning: a new potential in customer service

If you’re on top of the latest technology, there’s a good chance that you’re taking advantage of machine learning in your daily life. It’s a type of artificial intelligence that allows computers to learn new data and apply it to a service, all without being explicitly programmed to do so. There are a few obvious examples, like chatting with Amazon’s Alexa in your living room or Siri on your iPhone. Machine learning can also be more subtle, like when Google suggests a new route after sneakily cross-referencing your common destinations with a daily traffic report.

Leaving routine tasks to the machines

Effective machine learning tools could have the same impact as a personal assistant, one that’s infallible when it comes to routine tasks. For example, agents will commonly receive menial customer inquiries such as requests for subscription downgrades or cancellations. Agents bogged by low-level routine tasks could benefit from an AI-powered assistant that can quickly point customers towards the answer they’re looking for.

Enhancing current support channels

Most people think of chatbots when it comes to machine learning in customer service (as they should, since they’re all the rage at the moment), but don’t forget about your other support channels. A well-rounded approach to customer service means customers can communicate their issues in different ways. Machine learning is already being applied to self-service initiatives beyond chat, but we’ll soon see it a lot more in social media, texting, email, and phone support services.